Building construction



July 16, 1940. D. D. CRANDELL 2,203,094

v BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 28, 1939 l N V E N TO R flaw .22 (Pm/0541 ATTORNEYS Patented July 1 6, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,298,994

aurmmo cons'mnc'non Dean D. Crandcli, Buffalo, N. Y.,, assignor to National Gypsum Company, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application January 28, 1939, Serial No, 253,388

,8 Claims.

This invention relates to building constructions and more particularly to constructions wherein a plurality ofpreformed building units are secured to the building frame work. to produce walls. I I

In constructing walls of preformed slabs considerable difliculty is encountered in adequately securing the slabs to the framework or studding of the building. It is desirable to secure such l0 slabs by inserting fastening means between adjacent slabs rather than through the several slabs since by the former means adequate provision for expansion and contraction due to thermal and climatic conditions automatically ailorded, providing the securing means itself is such asto permit the movement in the plane of the wall which is incident to such expansion and contraction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wall construction which will inherently possess the desired possibilities and capabilities delin- I eated above and which will also lend itself to facile installation.

Another object is to provide a wall construction wherein a plurality of unitary wall members may be fastened toconventional studding securely and yet in such manner as to afford the desired tolerance for relative expansion and con- I ing meansof my invention is so constructed and cooperates in the finished wall construction'in such a way that its working loose from the frame work or pushing out from the wall is ad q ately prevented. I

An illustrative embodiment 5 shown in the accompanying drawing'wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wall construction in a ,partial state of completion;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my new fasten- ,ing means with-all of its elenients present but not so completely assembled; Fig.3 is an elevational view of the assembled fastening means; and I .v Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the fastening means of the present invention.

to In the drawing the numeral n refers to stud- 6: my invention is ment I! or the reticulated element i6.

ding or other building frame work and the elements ll may be wall boards positioned against the studding and held in place by fastening elements designated generally at It. It is to be noted that the fastening elements [2 are, inso- 5 far'as is convenient, disposed between adjacent wall boards rather than through individual boards.

The wall construction shown in Fig. 1 is usually completed by the application of an all-over l0 coating of plaster and it is in such completion that the fastening elements l2 perform their functions of anchoring the plaster coating to the underneath wall construction composed of the "wall boards H. 1

Referring to Fig. 2, the fastening element I2 is made up of a nail-like member l3 having a head M, a sheet or plate-like element 15 which may be of cardboard or other suitable material,

and a reticulated element It which in the illustrated embodiment assumes the form of a piece of expanded metal lath.

The element I5 is divided approximately down the middle as at", either by scoring or merely imaginarily, and the nail-like member I8 is forced 26 1 through the approximate center of one of the halves so formed. The other halfof the element I5 is then folded over the top of the head ll of the member I! as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The reticulated element" I6 is also divided, neither by scoring or maginariiy, into three areas defined by the dotted lines l8 and i9, and the member-l3 is then inserted through one of the openings in the element l6, as illustrated in Fig. 2, approximately centrally of one of the end areas. The next adjacent area, preferably of approximately the same is then folded over the top of the head ll with its associated sheet-like element i5 and the remaining area, constituting a retaining flap, is then folded beneath the lower or flrstmentione'd area, as illustrated in Fig. 3 to retain the entire device in securely assembled relation. I An important feature of the invention is the fact that by the mode of assembly herein described the relationship of the parts is suchthat the nail cannot back out, that is to say that no movement'of the nail, along its axis in either direction, is possible with respect to the sheet ele- In Fig.- 4 a 'rnodifledform of the fastening means is shown in perspective. For clearness of illustration only a portion of the mesh of the reticulated element is shown in detail, the remainder being indicated by dot and dash lines. 7

The elements 20 and 2| of the modified form, the nail and the sheet-like elements respectively, are substantially the same as the elements i3 and I5 respectively of the modification illustrated in 1 Figs. 2 and 3. The reticulated element 22, however, in the embodiment of Fig. 4, comprises a single rectangular sheet of metal lath or analogous material which extends across the under side of the elements 20 and 2| and has its onposed marginal portions folded over the top of the assembled fastening means and the opposed jecting through the center of the sheet 22. Op-

posed marginal portions of the rectangular sheet I are then folded over the top of the assembled nail and sheet-like element 2| in such manner that the edges of such marginal portions are substantially in juxtaposition.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the reticulated element 22 which forms the head of the fastening element may be formed to present a convex top surface and a concave under surface. This crowning or doming of the head of the fastening element is for the purpose of affording a more resilient gripping of the wall units by the heads of the fastening elements when the latter are brought into properly assembled relation with respect to the wall units.

In this connection it will be noted that as a fastening element is driven into the building framework or studdifig the four corners of the arched or domed head of the fastening device will come into contact with a wall unit or wall units in advance of the remaining portions of the head. It is intended that after such initial contact is to be driven in just enough more to partly flatten the dome or crown of the head to set up a resilient tension in the head and thereby resiliently grip the associated wall units. While the fastening unit may be driven entirely home, thereby setting up the maximum tension folded as described in connection with the modification of Fig. '4 and the top of the fastening element left flat as-in Fig. 3.

As has been previously indicated the fastening devices are preferably disposed, in assembling a wall, between adjacent wall boards II, for two reasons, first because such disposition permits relative shifting of the elements of construction in response to thermal changes and second because the relatively large head portion formed by the elements l and I6 provide adequate holding or clinching surfaces against tin! marginal portion of two, three, or even four boards. and the number of fastening elements required in a complete assembly is consequently greatly reduced.

While specific details of construction and arrangement have been described and illustrated aacaoei be limited only as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a wall construction including building frame workand a plurality of wall board elements disposed thereagainst, securing devices for maintaining said wall board elements against said frame work comprising a nail-like element adapted to have its shank driven between adjacent wall-boards and into said frame work, a sheet-like member impaled upon said shank and having a portion thereof folded over the head of said nail-like element, a reticulated member folded about said sheet-like member to completely enclose the same, and a plaster coating applied over said well board in the openings and anchored thereto by lodgement in said reticulated member.

2. In a wall construction including building frame work and a plurality of wall board elements disposed thereagainst flatwise, securing devices for maintaining said wall board elements against said frame work comprising a nail-like element adapted to have its shank 'driven into said frame work with its head portion disposed adjacent the outer surface of said wall board elements, a sheet-like member folded upon itself and having one of its folded portions disposed beneath the head of said naillike element and its other folded portion disposed over the top of said head and a reticulated element folded upon itself and having a portion disposed beneath the head of said nail-like element and a portion disposed across the'top of said head, both portions being disposed outside said folded member.

3. In a wall construction including building frame work and a plurality of wall board elements disposed thereagainst flatwise, securing devices formaintaining said wall board elements against said frame work comprising a nail-like element adapted to have its shank driven into said frame work with its head portion disposed adjacent the outer surface of said wall board elements, a flat plate portion impaled upon said shank and disposed beneath the head of said nail-like element and another flat plate portion disposed across the top of said head, and a reticulated member folded upon itself and having one folded portion thereof disposed against the outside of each of said plate portions and means for maintaining said reticulated member in folded relation.

4. In a wall construction including building frame work and a plurality of wall board elements disposed thereagainst, securing devices for maintaining said wail board elements against said frame work comprising a nail-like element adapted to have its shank driven between adjacent wall boards and into said frame work, a sheet-like member impaled upon said shank and having a portion thereof folded over the head of said nail-like element, and a reticulated member folded about said sheet-like member to substantinny completely enclose the same and form a composite head portion. said composite head portion being initially formed to be upwardly convex whereby initial engagement thereof with said wall board elements occurs at the corners and edges of the composite head portion.

5. In a wall construction including building frame work and a plurality of wall board elements disposed thereagainst, securing devices for Y maintaining said wall board elements against it is to be understood that my invention is to said frame work comprising a nail-like element adapted to have its shankdriven between adiacent wall boards and into said framework, a sheet-like member impaled upon said shank and having a portion thereof folded over the head of said nail-1ike member, and a reticulated member extending against and below. said sheet-like member with the shank of said nail-like member extending therethrough and having opposite marginal edges folded across the top of said sheet-like member tosubstantially surround the same 1 v 6. In a wall construction including building frame work and a plurality of wall elements disposed thereagalnst flatwise, securing devices for maintaining said wall elements against said frame work each comprising a nail-like element disposed against the outside of each of said plate portions for maintaining them in assembled relation; and a coating. of plaster over. said wall eleframe work and a plurality of wall elements disposed thereagainst flatwise, securing devices for maintaining said wall. elements against said frame work each comprising a nail-like element adapted to have its shank driven into said frame 5 work with its head portion disposed adjacent the outer surface of said wall elements, and a reticulated member extending against and below the head portion of said nail-like element with the'shank of said nail-like member extending o therethrough, said! reticulated member having a portion thereof. folded upon itself and across and over the top of the head portion of said nail-like element to substantially surround the same. u

18. In a wall construction including building frame work and a plurality of wall elements disposed thereagainst flatwise, securing devices for maintaining said well elements against said frame work each comprising a nail-like element go adapted to have its shank driven into said frame work with its head portion disposed adjacent the outer surface of said wall elements, and a reticulated member disposed fiatwise against the head portion of said nail-like element and rigg5 idly secured thereto, whereby to form an enlarged reticulated head for said nail-like element and prevent relativeaxial movement of said nail-like element with respect to said reticulated member.

' DEAN D. 'CRANDELL. 

